2015
Annual
Report
PUBLIC
PROGRAMS
OFFICE
“The truth is libraries
are raucous
clubhouses for free T
speech, controversy
and community.”
he stereotype of the quiet
library is a thing of the
past. More libraries are
hosting programs that ignite
conversation and healthy debate,
enabling them to represent the
whole community and stand
as stronger and more inclusive
community centers.
- Author and comedian Paula Poundstone
Cover photos courtesy of Oklahoma State
University, Andover (Ohio) Public Library, Somerset
(N.J.) Public Library and the Queens Museum.
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The American Library Association public
programs office (PPO) promotes cultural
and community programming as an
essential part of library service.
Numbers give us a bird’s-eye view of the communities reached
through ALA’s Public Programs Office. But every community is
unique. In the coming pages we will look at five institutions that
implemented PPO programs in 2015, reaching their communities
in new and engaging ways.
PPO by the Numbers
9/1/14 – 8/31/15
381: Total programs
awarded or administered
$1,036,500: Total funds distributed
710: Population of the
smallest community served
(Ignacio, Colorado)
8,400,000: Population of the
largest community served
(New York, New York)
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5
libraries transforming
communities
HARTFORD,
CONNECTICUT
L
POP. 125,017
“
I would describe our role not just as a place for
people to come but for being a change agent and
an agent of hope in the city of Hartford”
ike all cities, Hartford has
its challenges. Hartford’s
library is ready to step in and
help. After years of economic
hardship and social divisions in
some of its more underserved
communities, some residents felt
a rift forming between them and
the police. Already practiced at
community engagement work,
Hartford Public Library was
one of ten public libraries chosen
to take part in ALA’s Libraries
Transforming Communities
Public Innovators Cohort, an
intensive, 18-month training
program that taught libraries
new ways to address challenges
facing their communities.
In Hartford, library staff began
by bringing together residents
for eight candid conversations
about their feelings on Hartford,
their hopes for the city, and the
challenges they face. Residents’
chief concerns centered on
violence, public safety, and the
relationship between residents
and the police. Seeking to
break down those barriers, the
library invited area police and
community members, ranging
in age from 18 to 87, to a
dialogue about what residents
liked about their community and
what they would like to change,
as well as each groups’ role in
making those changes happen.
The conversation centered on
how police and residents can
work together, rather than what
separated them.
Matthew Poland
Former CEO, Hartford Public Library
Photo credit: Judy Wyman Kelly
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FLINT,
MICHIGAN
POP. 99,763
storycorps @ your library
W
hen the city of Flint
announced a new 20-year
master plan in 2013, the
Flint Public Library recognized
itself as an integral part of the
transformation. As part of its
vision for change, the library
applied to be part of StoryCorps
@ your library, a project that
provided libraries with resources
and training to implement
StoryCorps’ unique interview
methods in their communities.
“
Flint is writing a new story, a story and a future its
young people will own. The Flint Public Library
[brought] StoryCorps @ your library to Flint
to help our community celebrate its remarkable
past while embracing a transformative future by
connecting the voices of young people with the
voices of their elders to imagine Flint together.”
1960s Mississippi; another spoke
on the lasting impact of losing
her father and her home to fire
on Christmas Eve; a third related
his feelings when he was forced
to give up hockey after an injury
and then found happiness and
health through dance. The oral
histories were shared throughout
the community and will be
archived at the American Folk
Life Center at the Library of
Congress.
StoryCorps @ your library gave
Flint residents a chance to have
their voices heard and their
stories told—and their stories
were fascinating. One participant
talked about growing up as an
African American child during
the civil rights movement in
Kay Schwartz
Director of library services, Flint Public Library
8
Photo credits: Kay Schwartz
9
PROVIDENCE,
RHODE ISLAND
Latino Americans:
500 Years of History
POP. 177,994
S
“
Café Recuerdos is a place to find commonality. We
wanted to provide something familiar to help spark
conversation and invite all of the varied stories from
our community’s Latinos.”
ince the 1950s, Rhode
Island’s Latino population
has grown considerably;
today, representatives of
more than 20 Latin American
countries call the Ocean State
home. In 2015, Providence
residents found common ground
over cups of coffee at the
Southside Cultural Center’s Cafe
Recuerdos, or traveling memory
cafe, sponsored by Rhode Island
Latino Arts in partnership with
the Rhode Island Council for the
Humanities. The Rhode Island
Council for the Humanities was
a recipient of Latino Americans:
500 Years of History, a
nationwide initiative produced
in partnership with the National
Endowment for the Humanities,
which supports the exploration
of the rich and varied history
and experiences of Latinos
in the United States. The
portable coffee cart-turned-art
installation, designed by CubanAmerican artist Ana Flores, was
created to inspire conversation
about the Latino experience
in Rhode Island. Participants
shared their hopes and regrets
upon leaving their native
countries, their experiences and
discoveries as new residents of
the US, and even their reactions
to seeing snow for the first time
(like in a movie, said one young
participant). The stories were
as unique as the individuals
that told them, but also shared
common threads.
Marta V. Martínez
Executive director, Rhode Island Latino Arts
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Photo credit: Marta V. Martínez
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STILLWATER,
OKLAHOMA
POP. 47,186
“
The Science Café series delivered using OSU
professors at the top of their fields and experts from
the State of Oklahoma. It was a very informative
series that really didn’t take sides but showed
the process involved thoroughly from a variety of
perspectives. The depth of information given was
impressive and yet presented so that most in the
audience could understand.”
Science Café at osu
I
n Oklahoma, where the oil
industry is critical to the
economy, hydraulic fracturing
has left some communities
divided. Some residents point
to this controversial method
of oil extraction, also known
as fracking, as the cause for a
spike in earthquake activity in
recent years, as well as other
environmental issues.
Wanting to address these
concerns, the Oklahoma State
University Library created a
series of programs to put not
only students, but community
members, face-to-face with the
experts who could help answer
their questions. Over the course
of six evenings, Science Café at
OSU: Potential Impacts of Oil
and Gas Exploration featured
campus professors discussing
such topics as Hydraulic
Fracturing: Implications for
Land, Water and Communities,
Drilling Basics, Communities
and Housing, and Costs and
Benefits. This informative,
topical and collaborative Science
Cafés program garnered OSU
Library ALA’s 2015 Excellence
in Library Programming
Award. Supported by ALA’s
Cultural Communities Fund,
the award recognizes a library
that demonstrates excellence by
providing programs that have
community impact and respond
to community needs.
Angela Spotts
Stillwater resident
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Photos courtesy of Oklahoma State University
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Exploring Human Origins:
What Does It Mean to Be Human?
EPHRATA,
PENNSYLVANIA
S
POP. 13,516
“
The Ephrata Public Library wishes to be a leader
within the community by giving free access to
honest and forthright information, to be a catalyst
for positive change and to help define what it means
to be human. We cannot change peoples’ beliefs,
but we can be the vehicle to promote education and
enhancement of peoples’ lives.”
taff at the Ephrata Public
Library knew they were
in for a challenge when
they applied to host the
Exploring Human Origins
traveling exhibition. Created
by the Smithsonian’s National
Museum of Natural History,
the exhibition invites audiences
to explore milestones in the
evolutionary journey of becoming
human—from walking upright,
creating technology and eating
new foods, to brain enlargement
and the development of symbolic
language and complex societies—
milestones that define the
unique position of humans in
the history of life. But many
Ephrata residents fundamentally
disagreed with the ideas put
forth in the exhibition.
Library leaders saw not only the
challenge that lay ahead, but
also the opportunity. Instead of
shying away from the divisions
in the community, the library
embraced them, partnering with
members of the local clergy
as well as area museums and
colleges to present a total of
fifteen public programs.
While the programming was
not supported by all members
of the community, Executive
Director Penny Talbert found
“the most valuable take-away
from the Exploring Human
Origins exhibition, by far, was
that people were able to have
respectful conversation with each
other.”
Penny Talbert
Executive director, Ephrata Public Library
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Photos courtesy of Ephrata Public Library and Matt Ferry
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Join the conversation at
programminglibrarian.org
P
rogrammingLibrarian.org is a
place for library professionals to
share, learn and be inspired to
present excellent programming for
their communities. Created in 2008
with support from the Institute
of Museum and Library Services
(IMLS), Programming Librarian
was relaunched in 2015 with a new
look and improved features.
Photos (l to r) courtesy of:
Enoch Pratt Free Library, Madlyn Schneider, LP Fisher
Public Library, Chicago Public Library, Los Angeles
Public Library, Livingston Parish Library, Bedtime
Math Foundation, South Sioux City Public Library
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How do conversations like these
get started in communities?
Pcpac and ccf
For the programs featured
on the preceding pages, the
Public Programs Office relied
upon the support and expertise
of an experienced group of
programming librarians. The
ALA Public and Cultural
Programs Advisory Committee
(PCPAC) promotes excellence
in cultural programming; assists
library staff in becoming more
effective providers of cultural
programming; identifies
and disseminates resources
for cultural programming;
and promotes the Cultural
Communities Fund.
More programs are supported
every year by the Cultural
Communities Fund (CCF), an
endowment started in 2003
as a challenge grant from the
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funders and partners
National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH) to support
cultural programming in
libraries. Since 2003, funding
has grown to more than $1.9
million, supporting:
•professional development
opportunities for libraries that
address practical issues related
to cultural and community
programs
•awards and grants that
recognize excellence in library
programming
•development and promotion of
effective library programming
models
To make a contribution—and join
the more than 500 librarians,
foundations and corporations that
already have—visit ala.org/ccf.
PPO’s work with, and impact on, communities large and small would
not be possible without the following funders and partners.
•Afterschool Alliance
•Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation
•National Endowment for the
Humanities
•National Library of Medicine
•Cincinnati Museum Center
•National Science Foundation
•FINRA Investor Education
Foundation
•Oklahoma State University
Library
•Folger Shakespeare Library
•Peter Buck Human Origins Fund
•The Harwood Institute for
Public Innovation
•Smithsonian National Museum
of African American History
and Culture
•Institute of Museum and
Library Services
•John Templeton Foundation
•Lifetime Arts, Inc.
•Lunar & Planetary Institute
•Mount Holyoke College Library
•National Constitution Center
•Smithsonian National Museum
of American History
•Smithsonian National Museum
of Natural History
•Space Science Institute
•StoryCorps
•WETA Washington, DC
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Public Programs Office
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone • 312.280.5045
Toll-free • 800.545.2433
Fax • 312.280.5759
[email protected]
www.ala.org/publicprograms